"People who created anonymous beauty: Yanagi Muneyoshi and his folk art friends"
"People who created anonymous beauty: Yanagi Muneyoshi and his folk art friends"
There is beauty that quietly lives in our daily lives.
It is a beauty that is born from the hands of an anonymous craftsman, grows through use, and eventually remains in someone's heart.
It was Yanagi Soetsu and his fellow members of the Mingei movement who brought this "beauty of utility" to light.
Yanagi Muneyoshi: A look for beauty
Muneyoshi Yanagi is an art critic and philosopher of religion.
In 1925, he coined the term "mingei" (folk crafts), and argued that true beauty resides in everyday items made by unknown artisans.
That beauty lies not in technique or fame, but in the simple craftsmanship and everyday life.
His philosophy is deeply connected to the Buddhist concepts of "other power" and "selflessness."
Yanagi believed that beauty is something that appears beyond the intentions of the creator.
Mingei Friends: People Who Lived Beauty
There were friends who resonated with Yanagi's ideas and put the beauty of folk art into practice.
In their respective regions, they embodied the spirit of folk art through their respective skills.
・Shoji Hamada (Mashiko ware)
A potter who listens to the voice of the clay and breathes life into his vessels. A person who has continued to put Yanagi's ideas into practice.
・Kawai Kanjiro (Kyoto)
A ceramic artist like a poet, he continued to explore the "beauty of living" through words and art.
・Bernard Leach (UK)
A bridge between Eastern and Western beauty, his friendship with Yanagi helped spread folk art to the world.
・Serizawa Keisuke (stencil dyeing)
A dyer who paints the poetry of folk art through color and form. Pursuing beauty that is close to everyday life.
・Shiko Munakata (prints)
An artist who imbues his prints with the soul of folk art, like carving the voice of Buddha onto a board.
There is a beauty in their work that goes beyond the name.
It was created with the assumption that it would be used by someone.
And the more you use it, the more beautiful it becomes.
A Place for Folk Crafts: The Japan Folk Crafts Museum and its Philosophy
In 1936, Yanagi founded the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Komaba, Tokyo.
There are folk crafts collected from all over the country on display.
Pottery, dyeing and weaving, woodwork, baskets - all of these are made by nameless artisans.
The Mingei Museum is not just an exhibition space.
It is a place to cultivate an eye for finding beauty.
Willow said.
"Beauty only reveals itself when it is discovered."
How to Pass Down Folk Crafts Now
For those of us living in the present day, folk art is not a legacy of the past.
It is a philosophy and perspective for discovering the beauty that lies in the everyday.
The colors and stories that WABISUKE weave resonate with the spirit of folk art.
Anonymous beauty, seasonal colors, poetry that grows through use - these are the very essence of beauty that Yanagi Soetsu observed.